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The Adventure Of Randomized Shopping

Craving the excitement that consumerism arouses, Darius Kazemi designed the Amazon Random Shopper, which buys random object each month, and documents the results. Could this randomized consumption prove more rewarding than shopping according to our supposed needs, desires, and tastes?

Recently I’ve been making a bunch of weird stuff that randomly generates things. The first iteration of this was going to be a program that bought me stuff that I probably would like. But then I decided that was too boring.

How about I build something that buys me things completely at random? Something that just… fills my life with crap? How would these purchases make me feel? Would they actually be any less meaningful than the crap I buy myself on a regular basis anyway?

So I built Amazon Random Shopper. It grabs a random word from the Wordnik API, then runs an Amazon search based on that word and buys the first thing that’s under budget.

just seeing your comment in Disqus, I at first thought this was a reply to my query about ‘life extension’. Which really made me wonder what dark states you were perpetuating. ; )

http://www.ContraControl.com/ Zenc

Hahaha.

For that there’s Intermezzo. Same compound but if used correctly hits so fast it skips the hypnagogic state and leads elsewhere…

BuzzCoastin

> So I built Amazon Random Shopper.

the Merkin edumcation system patented that invention decades ago
and it wasn’t limited to Amazon
get ready for a patent lawsuit

echar

I wish I had cash to waste on random shit.

jnana

that’s why I dumpster dive. what can be more rewarding and releases more endorphins than getting random shit FOR FREE!!! And you have the added bonus of risking harassment by police. Which is always a thrill…